Ceiling mounting ring for speaker cones

ABSTRACT

A ceiling ring for mounting speakers in a ceiling. The ceiling ring is especially adapted for mounting a speaker from the bottom side of the ceiling after the ceiling has been constructed. The ceiling ring comprises a plaster ring inserted through the top of a hole in the ceiling and a closing plate which nests from below the ceiling within the plaster ring after the ceiling has been finished. The closing plate has an inwardly extending flange defining a central opening and opposite cutout portions which receive the speaker which is provided with a circular grill extending beyond the bottom edges of the speaker and which has a pair of flat sides which fit through the cutout opening in the rim-like flange of the closing plate when the speaker is turned perpendicularly on its side. The speaker, after it has been inserted, is righted and rests upon the flange by gravity. The closing plate can be clamped to the plaster ring by a workman who has availability through the central opening of the plaster ring to fasten connecting bolts extending from the plaster ring through slots in the closing plate.

[ 51 May 30, 1972 CEILING MOUNTING RING FOR SPEAKER CONES Heinrich J. Junk, Maplewood, Mo.

Chamois Electronic Manufacturing Company, Inc., Chamois, Mo.

July 6, 1970 Inventor:

Assignee:

Filed:

Appl. No.:

US. Cl ..18l/31 R, 240/78 H, 248/27 Int. Cl. ..Gl0k 13/00, H04r 1/28 Field of Search ..l81/3l R, 31 B; 248/343, 27;

240/78 H, 78 HA, 85 R, 76

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6/1953 Pryne.... ..248/27 6/l954 Webb....

Fox ..l8l/31 R Primary Examiner-Stephen .l Tomsky AttorneyRogers, Ezell, Eilers and Robbins ABSTRACT A ceiling ring for mounting speakers in a ceiling. The ceiling ring is especially adapted for mounting a speaker from the bottom side of the ceiling after the ceiling has been constructed. The ceiling ring comprises a plaster ring inserted through the top of a hole in the ceiling and a closing plate which nests from below the ceiling within the plaster ring after the ceiling has been finished. The closing plate has an inwardly extending flange defining a central opening and opposite cutout portions which receive the speaker which is provided with a circular grill extending beyond the bottom edges of the speaker and which has a pair of flat sides which fit through the cutout opening in the rim-like flange of the closing plate when the speaker is turned perpendicularly on its side. The speaker, after it has been inserted, is righted and rests upon the flange by gravity. The closing plate can be clamped to the plaster ring by a workman who has availability through the central opening of the plaster ring to fasten connecting bolts extending from the plaster ring through slots in the closing plate.

7 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures Patented May 30, 1972 3,666,040

38 Llg l i'llll Hlllll CEILING MOUNTING RING FOR SPEAKER CONES SUMMARY OF THE INVENT ION In the past, ceiling rings for mounting speaker cones to ceilings have taken many forms of construction. A problem has existed in the past due to the different thicknesses of ceiling tile or plaster and the like, and have generally required special attention in mounting a support ring to the bottom of the ceiling by screws or the like and afi'ixation of speaker cone to the mounting apparatus. A special problem has existed due to the varying thicknesses in the ceiling and hookup of the electrical portion of the speaker.

By means of the instant invention, a ceiling ring comprising a plaster ring and a closing plate has been provided in which the plaster ring can be mounted in a hole in the ceiling at the beginning stage of the ceiling construction. As the ceiling is finished, either by plastering or providing ceiling tile, a closing plate can be simply connected to the plaster ring by inserting it in nested relation within the plaster ring and connecting it to inwardly extending bolts which fit through mating openings in the closing plate. The hole in the ceiling originally provided need not be of exact dimensions since a hiding rim or flange on the closing plate acts as a mask or frame to hide irregularities in the'cut'out'hole in the ceiling. Both the closing plate and the plaster ring are of a shallow tubular construction and by elongated cutout hole configuration in the closing plate ceilings of varying thicknesses can be accommodated, since the closing plate can be moved toward or away from the plaster ring with the bolts fitting through the elongated openings in the closing plate.

Once the closing plate has been mounted to the plaster ring, a speaker can be simply inserted through the central opening within the closing plate and rested upon an inwardly extending rim-like flange provided on the closing plate. The rim-like flange has opposite cutout openings so that the speaker grill of the speaker which is of larger diameter than the bottom of the speaker can be turned perpendicularly on its side with the flattened sides of the grill inserted through the cutout openings, the cone is then righted by the workman to a horizontal position and simply rested on the inwardly extending retaining flange and rotated slightly so that the flat sides are moved away from the cutout openings and hidden by the flange.

The ceiling ring of this invention comprising the plaster ring and closing plate and through the combination of flattened sides of the speaker grill can be installed by relatively unskilled workmen. Further, the ceiling ring is designed to accommodate various types of ceilings of different thickness and expeditious installation is readily obtained. Further, removal of the speaker can be very simply effected by a reverse operation from that previously described where maintenance or replacement is desired.

The above features are objects of this invention and further objects will appear in the detailed description which follows and will be otherwise apparent to those skilled in the art.

For the purpose of illustration of this invention, there is shown in the accompanying drawings, a preferred embodiment thereof. It is to be understood that these drawings are for the purpose of example only and that the invention is not limited thereto.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view showing a speaker mounted in the ceiling ring;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view showing the speaker mounted within the ceiling ring;

FIG. 3 is a view in section taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view in section taken similarly to FIG. 3 but at the left-hand portion thereof;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view in section taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view in section taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the plaster ring;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the closing plate;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken as indicated by the line 99 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken as indicated by the line 10-10 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 1 1 is an exploded view partly in elevation and partly in section showing the steps in the assembly of the ceiling ring and mounting of the speaker therein;

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The ceiling ring of this invention is generally designated by reference number 20 and is comprised of a plaster ring 22 and a closing plate 24 for mounting a speaker cone 26. The speaker is of special construction and is provided with a generally circular rigid grill 28 connected to the speaker and having flattened opposite sides 30 and 32 as best shown in FIGS.1, 3, 4, 5, and 11.

The plaster ring 22 is best shown in FIGS. 3 through 6 and 11 as a generally tubular body portion 34 of shallow depth. At the top of the body is an outwardly extending flange 36 of generally rim-like configuration having a slightly downward bend away from true perpendicular in order to provide a spring-like retaining action on the ceiling in the final installation. The body 34 of the plaster ring is further provided with a pair of retaining bolts 38 which are mounted through openings by Tinnerman nuts 40.

The closing plate 24 is likewise best shown in FIGS. 3 through 6 and 11 with special features of construction shown in FIGS. 8 through 10.

The closing plate 24 is comprised of an inner ring member 44 and outer ring member 46 which are crimped together as best shown in FIG. 4. The inner ring member 44 includes a tubular or sleeve-like portion 48 having an inwardly turned bottom flange of a rim-like nature 50. The inner flange 50 is further provided with opposite cutout openings 52 and 54 as best shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, which receive the grill 28 in the insertion of the speaker into the ceiling ring as will be more fully described herein below. The outer ring member 46 is comprised of a sleeve member 56 and an outwardly extending bottom flange portion 58 of a rim-like nature which is adapted to bear against the bottom of the finished ceiling and act as a hiding rim. For the purpose of connecting the-plaster ring to the closing plate, the sleeve 48 of the inner ring is provided with a slot 60 at one side and an elongated opening 62 at the opposite side as best shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and 9 and 10, respectively. The slot and the elongated opening receive the connecting bolts 38 therethrough, and, by means of the nuts 64 and lock washers 66, the closing plate can. be clamped to the plaster ring. As shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8, slots 65 in the sleeve member 56 are disposed in alignmentwith the lower portions of the slot 60 and the opening 62.

USE

The ceiling ring of this invention is adapted to be used very simply and expeditiously in ceilings having different thicknesses and of different types, including ceiling tile, plaster ceiling, and many other types. In the first operation, the ceiling wall as shown in FIG. 11 has an opening 72 cut therein of a size in diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the tubular member 34 of the plaster ring. The plaster ring 22 is then simply dropped into the opening 72 as shown in FIG. 11 with the retaining rim-like flange 36 hearing in supporting relation on the top of the ceiling wall 70.

After the above-noted operation, the ceiling can be finished in any conventional fashion such as by adding additional tile, painting, plastering, or the like, which may increase the thickness of the wall 70. After the ceiling has been finished, the closing plate 24 is partially inserted from the bottom of the ceiling by an operator into the interior of the plaster ring in such a fashion that the slotted hole 62 receives the fastening bolt 38. A nut 64 is then threaded over the end of the bolt so as to loosely retain the closing plate in connected fashion to the plaster ring. The operator may then perform any additional finishing operations required upon the ceiling and, after this has been completed, can make the final connection of the closing plate to the plaster ring by connecting the opposite bolt through the slotted opening 60 by fitting a nut over the bolt and thread-ing it into secure engagement with the sleeve member 48 of the closing plate. In the connecting operation of the closing plate to the plaster ring, it will be understood that the rim-like flange member 58 is brought to bear tightly against the bottom of the ceiling wall 70 and that different wall thicknesses may be accommodated as the closing plate can be adjusted with respect to the ceiling ring through the vertically slotted opening 60 and the elongated opening 62.

After the ceiling ring has been connected to the ceiling in the fashion above described, the speaker 26 can be simply inserted by turning the speaker perpendicularly on its side so that the flat sides 32 are perpendicular and are fitted through the cutout openings 52 and 54 and the closing plate. After the speaker has been moved by the operator into the interior of the ceiling ring, the speaker is righted and turned to the horizontal position and dropped downwardly so that the outer edges of the grill 28 rest upon the inwardly extending flange 50 of the closing plate. The operator from beneath the ceiling turns by a slight lifting and twisting operation the speaker grill so that the flat sides 30 and 32 of the grill are moved a quarter revolution away from the cutout openings 52 and 54 so that the flat sides do not show therethrough. In the rotated position, the circular edges of the grill underly the ends of the bolt and connecting nut as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 which aid in retaining the grill and preventing bouncing or any dislodgement should the ceiling be jarred through one cause or another.

Where it is desired to remove the speaker cone or perform a maintenance operation, disassembly is very simply effected by merely reversing the operations above described and withdrawing the speaker grill through the side openings for any necessary repair or disassembly. The entire assembly or disassembly operation of the ceiling ring can be very simply effected, as noted before, and this can be performed to accommodate different types of ceilings of different construction and thicknesses.

Various changes and modifications may be made within this invention as will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are within the scope and teaching of this invention as defined by the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A ceiling ring for mounting a speaker in a ceiling as it is being constructed and a speaker, said ceiling ring comprising a plaster ring having a shallow tubular configuration and a retaining element extending outwardly from a top end of the ring, said ring being adapted to be inserted from the top of a ceiling wall through a hole therein, a closing plate having a shallow tubular configuration receivable within said plaster ring through a bottom end of the ring, said closing plate being provided with an'outwardly extending rim-like element adapted to cover the bottom portion of the finished ceiling around said hole, said closing plate being further provided with means for supporting the speaker.

2. The ceiling ring of claim 1 in which the means for supporting the speaker in the closing plate comprises an inwardly extending rim-like flange defining a central opening and having opposite side portions of a greater opening diameter than the remainder of said flange, said speaker having a flat generally circular rigid speaker grill extending beyond the bottom of the speaker, said grill having a width-in at least one direction greater than the diameter of the central opening in the closing plate in order that the speaker may be turned perpendicular-1y to the horizon and inserted through the opening and mounted in the righted position upon said flange.

3. The ceiling ring of claim 1 in which the means for sup porting the speaker in the closing plate comprises an inwardly extending rim-like flange defining a central opening and having opposite side portions of a greater opening diameter than the remainder 0 said flange, said speaker having a flat generally circular rigid speaker grill extending beyond the bottom of the speaker cone, said grill having a pair of flat opposite sides with the distance therebetween being less than central opening of said rim-like flange in order that the speaker may be turned perpendicularly to the horizon and inserted through the opening and mounted in the righted position upon said flange.

4. The ceiling ring of claim 1 in which the plaster ring is provided with inwardly extending elongated elements which are receivable within openings in the closing plate and means cooperating with said elongated elements for clamping the closing plate to the plaster ring.

5. The ceiling ring of claim 2 in which the plaster ring is provided with inwardly extending elongated elements which are receivable within openings in the closing plate and means cooperating with said elongated elements for clamping the closing plate to the plaster ring.

6. The ceiling ring of claim 4 in which the elongated elements on the plaster ring comprise bolts fitting through vertically elongated openings in the closing plate and nuts are provided to bear against the interior of the closing plate and clamp it to the plaster ring, said closing plate being adjustable along its axis toward and away from the plaster ring to accommodate ceilings of varying thicknesses.

7. The ceiling ring of claim 6 in which the bolt ends closely overly the outer edges of the speaker grill to resist any vibratory movement of the grill due to external forces. 

1. A ceiling ring for mounting a speaker in a ceiling as it is being constructed and a speaker, said ceiling ring comprising a plaster ring having a shallow tubular configuration and a retaining element extending outwardly from a top end of the ring, said ring being adapted to be inserted from the top of a ceiling wall through a hole therein, a closing plate having a shallow tubular configuration receivable within said plaster ring through a bottom end of the ring, said closing plate being provided with an outwardly extending rim-like element adapted to cover the bottom portion of the finished ceiling around said hole, said closing plate being further provided with means for supporting the speaker.
 2. The ceiling ring of claim 1 in which the means for supporting the speaker in the closing plate comprises an inwardly extending rim-like flange defining a central opening and having opposite side portions of a greater opening diameter than the remainder of said flange, said speaker having a flat generally circular rigid speaker grill extending beyond the bottom of the speaker, said grill having a width in at least one direction greater than the diameter of the central opening in the closing plate in order that the speaker may be turned perpendicular-ly to the horizon and inserted through the opening and mounted in the righted position upon said flange.
 3. The ceiling ring of claim 1 in which the means for supporting the speaker in the closing plate comprises an inwardly extending rim-like flange defining a central opening and having opposite side portions of a greater opening diameter than the remainder of said flange, said speaker having a flat generally circular rigid speaker grill extending beyond the bottom of the speaker cone, said grill having a pair of flat opposite sides with the distance therebetween being less than central opening of said rim-like flange in order that the speaker may be turned perpendicularly to the horizon and inserted through the opening and mounted in the righted position upon said flange.
 4. The ceiling ring of claim 1 in which the plaster ring is provided with inwardly extending elongated elements which are receivable within openings in the closing plate and means cooperating with said elongated elements for clamping the closing plate to the plaster ring.
 5. The ceiling ring of claim 2 in which the plaster ring is provided with inwardly extending elongated elements which are receivable within openings in the closing plate and means cooperating with said elongated elements for clamping the closing plate to the plaster ring.
 6. The ceiling ring of claim 4 in which the elongated elements on the plaster ring comprise bolts fitting through vertically elongated openings in the closing plate and nuts are provided to bear against the interior of the closing plate and clamp it to the plaster ring, said closing plate being adjustable along its axis toward and away from the plaster ring to accommodate ceilings of varying thicknesses.
 7. The ceiling ring of claim 6 in which the bolt ends closely overly the outer edges of the speaker grill to resist any vibratory movement of the grill due to external forces. 